In Focus

Last September UNESCO organized an international conference on Broadcast Media and Climate Change. The brochure, published as an outcome of this event, is being distributed at the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15), which is now taking place in Copenhagen.

The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day, celebrated on 1 December, is “Universal Access and Human Rights”. All people have the right to education and information that will enable them to avoid HIV infection, and those living with HIV to be free from stigma and discrimination. UNESCO has undertaken a number of activities aimed at increasing awareness about HIV and AIDS.

The current issue of the UNESCO Courier highlights the extraordinary items of documentary heritage - the royal archives of Madagascar, the Song of the Nibelungs, John Marshall's Kalahari films - inscribed this year on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.

UNESCO participates in the fourth Internet Governance Forum, held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from 15 to 18 November 2009, to advocate the principles of freedom of expression and universal access.

UNESCO’s Communication and Information Sector offers a free access to more than 4,000 high quality pictures to the users of its website. The photos illustrate the Sector activities and can be accessed by thematic categories or through a search engine. The Memory of the World Programme is represented with 1,000 pictures.

UNESCO, in collaboration with the Government of Thailand, is organizing the Second Global Forum on the Power of Peace in Bangkok, Thailand, from 28 to 30 October 2009.

The CI Commission (13-15 October 2009 and 20 October 2009) will consider issues related to communication and information.

On 15 October, the nomination will be submitted to the approval of the General Conference, which brings together representatives of the Organization’s 193 Member States. Once confirmed, she will be the first woman Director-General of the Organization.

A selection of high resolution photographs of some of the treasured items listed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, as well as other properties from projects that have been implemented under the Memory of the World Programme, are exhibited until 29 October 2009 around the railings of UNESCO's Fontenoy Building in Paris, France.

“Access to relevant information on climate change is vital to sustain a living planet and for the survival of human beings,” stressed the participants of the International Conference on Broadcast Media and Climate Change.

On the recommendation of the Jury, the Director-General of UNESCO designated the National Archives of Malaysia as the winner of the UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize for 2009.

UNESCO extends to 31 August 2009 the deadline for submission of entries for the logo competition for World Day for Audiovisual Heritage.

Thirty-five items of documentary heritage of exceptional value have been added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. This brings the total number of inscriptions since 1997 to 193. The Memory of the World Register features documentary heritage identified by the International Advisory Committee and endorsed by the Director-General of UNESCO as corresponding to the selection criteria for world significance.

Established in 1985, the UNESCO-IPDC Prize for Rural Communication aims to reward a pioneering activity which contributes to improving communication in rural communities. UNESCO invites nominations for this year’s edition of the Prize to be submitted, before 30 October 2009, in consultation with the National Commissions or relevant NGOs.

Cyber universities, the challenge of equal access and the growing carbon footprint of information and communication technologies were debated during a parallel session at the World Conference on Higher Education. The Conference, gathering close to 1,000 participants from 148 countries, opened on 5 July at UNESCO Headquarters.

Created in 2004 as a result of the collaboration between the National University of Rwanda and UNESCO, Radio Salus has become the symbol of a successful community radio. It is seen as a professional radio with an effective capacity building ability that promotes freedom of expression and gives the voice to the voiceless.

27 October has been proclaimed as World Day for Audiovisual Heritage by UNESCO’s General Conference. UNESCO and CCAAA are launching an international competition to design a logo that would give the celebration of the Day its own brand.

The purpose of this event, organized by UNESCO in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), regional broadcasting unions and other international organisations is to consider a global consensus to raise public awareness on the challenges of climate change. UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, 4 - 5 September 2009.

To mark this year’s Day, dedicated to the potential of media in fostering dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation, UNESCO organized many conferences and events in different parts of the world.

To support social and economic development, UNESCO and Sun Microsystems signed a Collaboration Agreement on 18 May at WSIS Forum 09.

Critical knowledge societies issues were addressed during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 09, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 18 to 22 May 2009.

UNESCO is devoting the second session of its Future Forum to the role and impact of ICTs in the knowledge process and to their potential for enhancing education, the sciences and culture.

UNESCO and 32 partner institutions launched the World Digital Library, a web site that features unique cultural materials from libraries and archives from around the world. The launch took place at UNESCO Headquarters, on 21 April 2009.

The late Sri Lankan journalist and editor of the Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was assassinated on 8 January this year, has been named laureate of the 2009 UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize.

Since 2008 UNESCO and CCF are screening films on HIV, sexuality and gender in selected Cambodian provinces. This month movie, Palace of Dreams, aims at reducing the risk of HIV infection among the youth.

Some 250 media professionals from around the world adopted a declaration emphasizing the importance of media in communicating across cultural differences at the close of a two-day international conference in Doha (Qatar).

The tenth International Mother Language Day was celebrated on 21 February 2009 to recall the importance of linguistic diversity. By supporting the development of multilingual cyberspace, UNESCO promotes wider and more equitable access to information and helps preserve endangered languages through ICT.

This UNESCO media training and resource kit aims to provide media professionals with inter-disciplinary knowledge so they can become partners in education and development by performing their professional function as journalists. This publication is available online in English. Readers are invited to post their comments through a blog created for this purpose.